A Message from our Executive Director, Chris Rhodes
Dear Friends of the Woods
As we approach the end of the year, I want to share a reflection on the Woods from one of our summer staffers:
“The staff here are like family and the campers are able to sense that. The Woods provides a safe haven for the broken-hearted and the lost, allowing them to feel like they belong somewhere. This place is filled with so much love, and is a place where we can look past our own brokenness and that of others, which in turn allows us to openly receive healing with God. I am so grateful to be a part of this family and work side by side with them to love on the kids.”
Every year we receive similar reflections from our community. Whether they’re entering our forest for the first time or have called it home for years, our participants share that they experience positive growth and authentic belonging guided by the love that flows through our programs.
While Jesus’ message of love remains our guiding light, the programs and services that Westminster Woods offers have been revised many times since our founding in 1946. Times change, people’s needs evolve, and the Church itself has reformed. Over the years, we have adapted and expanded our programs and facilities to meet those shifting needs and through it all, Westminster Woods has remained a second home for our community.
In the past three years, we have hired a new Program Director, Ryan McKenzie; a new School Programs Manager, Casey Stachelski; a new Ministries Manager, Charlotte Trotter; and a new Challenge Course Manager, Jesse Posehn. When they joined our leadership team, we asked each of these dynamic and deeply considerate individuals to review our programs to see if they are still meeting the needs of the campers, churches, schools, and groups we serve - and how we can help extend and expand our guiding light and our Woods community.
After thoughtful and careful review, we realized that some of our programs needed only a few updates, but others a deeper rekindling. The embers in our programs were still glowing; they just needed new breath to blow upon them, and that breath is guiding us as we look toward the next year of the Woods’ life. That is what we always strive to do at Westminster Woods – to reignite the burning ember in each of us.
I hope you will be a part of what’s happening at the Woods in 2024 and ask that you consider including Westminster Woods in your year-end giving. Together, we can enjoy and share the experience of transformation with new breath flowing through our lives and our beloved community.
Just as the embers within some of our programs need a rekindling, our facilities and grounds are in need of their own consistent tending. In addition to the everyday upkeep of our site, this year the homestead is in need of a new roof, our pool needs a new lining, and we hope to renovate two cabins to include interior bathrooms. Financial contributions or donations of tools, supplies, and time help us complete much needed repairs to our site and help improve our guest experience
Visit our donation page to learn more about our planned projects for 2024. As always, we are grateful for your presence in our community.
Blessings,
Chris Rhodes Executive Director